The invention relates to a filter element for filtering a fluid stream, comprising a cylindrical support body, which is provided with openings and is closed at one axial end, and a filter medium, which is arranged on the support body.
German Patent Application no. DE 37 23 807 discloses a tubular filter element that is formed by a rigid, radially perforated support tube, a filter medium and end disks. The exterior of the support tube is covered with the filter medium. The end disks are made of plastic and are subsequently injected onto the support tube. The end disks terminate the filter medium to form a seal, whereby the filter medium is simultaneously fixed on the support tube. It is conventional in the art to cover support tubes with a prefabricated tubular filter medium. The filter medium can, for instance, be sewn together by a longitudinal seam to form the tubular filter medium. This prefabricated tubular filter medium is pulled over the support tube in an assembly step. However, separate tubular filter media must be produced for each support tube diameter, which causes not only significant logistical but also assembly and storage costs. Furthermore, many filter media, particularly coated filter media, cannot be pulled over the support tube in their prefabricated state because they cannot slide on the support tube.